儒琴英语词汇选自欧美报刊文章以及英语原文小说。坚持学习英语今日词汇，有助于阅读和理解当今欧美主流媒体的新闻时事报道和英语文学作品。
儒琴英语词汇（English Words and Phrases of the Day）
cause célèbre
noun [ C ]/ˌkɑːz selˈeb.rə/
plural causes célèbres /ˌkɔːz.selˈeb.rə/ /ˌkɑːz-/
an event, such as a famous legal trial, that attracts a lot of public attention
轰动一时的事件；引起公众关注的诉讼案 (Cambridge)
PTSD
post‐traumatic stress disorder 创伤后应激障碍
One reason is that worrying about Trump’s electoral prowess is a way of avoiding becoming overconfident ala 2016, when Hillary Clinton’s edge over Trump was supposed to be insurmountable. Democrats continue to suffer from a kind of election night PTSD as they contemplate that the inconceivable occurred.
boot on the throat
Literally, you can picture the meaning of “boot on the throat” – imagine one man has knocked another man down and comes to stand over his victim, putting his boot on the victim’s throat (so he has the boot on the throat) so that victim can’t get up without risking serious injury.
打压；欺压；欺负
De Blasio, Margarella told the crowd, “has had his boots on our throats” for the past four years. He referred to Cuomo as “Il Duce,” which was Mussolini’s nickname.
snitch
verb /snɪtʃ/
snitch verb (TELL SECRETLY)
[ I ] informal disapproving
to secretly tell someone in authority that someone else has done something bad, often in order to cause trouble
告发，告密，揭发
In order to identify people who might be turning down suitable work, the federal government is directing states to get companies to snitch on their employees if they are refusing to return to their jobs. The DOL guidance issued Monday “strongly encourages” states to “request employers to provide information when workers refuse to return to their jobs for reasons that do not support their continued eligibility for benefits.
commencement
noun/kəˈmens.mənt/ [ C or U ] formal
1) the beginning of something
开始；开端
Would passengers please turn off their mobile phones before the commencement of the flight. 请乘客们在飞机起飞前关闭手机。
2) a ceremony at which students formally receive their degrees
学位授予典礼；毕业典礼 (Cambridge)
Former President Obama delivered a virtual commencement speech to seniors graduating from historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) on Saturday, as the pandemic pauses in-person celebrations. (Axios(
rile
verb [ T ] informal /raɪl/
to make someone angry
激怒；使恼火
Don’t let her rile you. 不要让她激怒了你。
Since well before he became president, Mr. Trump’s appetite for conflict has defined him as a public figure. But in recent days he has practiced that approach with new intensity, signaling both the depths of his election-year distress and his determination to blast open a path to a second term, even at the cost of further riling a country in deep anguish. （New York Times）
foible
noun [ C usually plural ] /ˈfɔɪ.bəl/
a strange habit or characteristic that is seen as not important and not harming anyone
（无伤大雅的）怪癖，小毛病，小缺点
We all have our little foibles. 我们都有自己的小毛病。
It could happen again. For all his miscues and foibles and temper tantrums, Trump has displayed a remarkable consistency during his presidency. （The National Interest）
umbilical cord
noun [ C usually singular ]/ʌmˈbɪl.ɪ.kəl ˌkɔːrd/
the long, tube-like structure that connects a baby that has not yet been born to its mother’s placenta (= the organ that provides it with food and oxygen)
脐带
The nurse cut the baby’s umbilical cord. 护士剪掉了婴儿的脐带。(Cambridge)
It could happen again. For all his miscues and foibles and temper tantrums, Trump has displayed a remarkable consistency during his presidency. Throughout, he has maintained an unbreakable rhetorical umbilical cord to his supporters.
